18th April marks the 2nd anniversary of grandma's death. It has been 2 years since her passing but the memory of her is very fresh. It has been a long time since someone very dear is gone from my life and I am still taking time to grieve for the loss. There is a picture of grandma and my 2 boys on my desk. That was a picture taken just 3 months before she passed away, on my sons' 2nd and 4th birthday.
Grandma did not lead an easy life. She was divorced from her husband when her 3 children were young, and she worked very hard to feed them. It made her a brave, tough and wise person.
She found opportunities to earn extra income for the family, and I have seen her worked late into the night. From her and my mother, I learnt the virtue of laboring and hard work. Without a husband to support her, she did what she could to raise her children in her younger days. Then her children were married and set up their own families. She was still there, doing her bit as a supportive, protective and overly responsible mother - from mediating conflicts to raising grandchildren. When her eldest son, my father, passed away at the age of 36 years old, I saw much sorrow in her. The love for her son was great, even though he was not successful and was still a constant worry for her until his death. She helped my mum, the widow, as much as she could, because she felt an obligation to provide what her late son could not.
She was there with us, on so many occasions that we wanted her - to comfort when we were in tears and to share joy when we were celebrating our successes and major milestones. She was with me for 37 years of my life, hmm, a little longer than she was a mum to my dad. She was one person who was significant in my life; our relationship was strong. To let her go was tough. In fact, I know that it was not just for me, but for all her children, grandchildren and great grandchildren whose lives she had touched.
She is still very much alive in our memory. We remember the virtues that she displayed, the kindness she had shown, the respect that she commanded, the stance of quietly knowing what was going on, not forgetting the yummy food that she cooked and her parting words for each of us. She was sent to the hospital after a blood vessel leaked but she hang on long enough to leave a word for all of us, before she quietly left. She shall be a reminder to us to celebrate the small joy we have in our lives - we have been blessed with many of what she had not.
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